Somewhere along the line, the word “freestyle” went from meaning “improvised rhymes” to “pre-written verses over someone else’s beat.” On unreleased joint This Is Not a Freestyle, Seattle representative Carl Rose skewers this trend, taking aim at emcees who refuse to pay their dues over the gritty, percussion-driven beat from Gilbere Forte‘s Get It Poppin’. Fans can find the original version of Get It Poppin and much more on Forte’s recently-released, DJBooth-sponsored street album, YOTD: Year of the Dragon. Though this freestyle

song isn’t attached to any forthcoming project, those digging it should check back with us on the regular for all the latest from Carl Roe.